NEW YORK, Feb. 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency have earned it a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator.
This is the sixth consecutive time that the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation has earned this top distinction.
Since 2002, using objective analysis, Charity Navigator has awarded only the most fiscally responsible organizations a 4-star rating. In 2011, Charity Navigator added 17 metrics, focused on governance and ethical practices as well as measures of openness, to its ratings methodology. These Accountability & Transparency metrics, which account for 50 percent of a charity’s overall rating, reveal which charities operate in accordance with industry best practices and whether they are open with their donors and stakeholders.
“The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s exceptional 4-star rating sets it apart from its peers and demonstrates its trustworthiness to the public,” according to Michael Thatcher, President & CEO of Charity Navigator. “Only a quarter of charities rated by Charity Navigator receive the distinction of our 4-star rating. This adds the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation to a preeminent group of charities working to overcome our world’s most pressing challenges. Based on its 4-star rating, people can trust that their donations are going to a financially responsible and ethical charity when they decide to support the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation.”
Since the Foundation’s inception, it has stressed the importance of keeping overhead low and maximizing the percentage of donor dollars spent on helping America’s heroes. Over the last few years, more than 93% of all fundraising dollars went directly to the Foundation’s programs. Foundation CEO and Chairman Frank Siller serves as an uncompensated volunteer.
“We take great pride in receiving this ranking for an amazing sixth straight year,” said Foundation CEO and Chairman Frank Siller. “It is of the utmost importance to us that our donors feel like they are making a difference with every dollar they trust us with.”
In 2019, Tunnel to Towers provided 54 mortgage-free homes around the country across its three major programs: the Gold Star Family Home Program, the Fallen First Responder Home Program and the Smart Home Program. These programs provide Gold Star families, the families of fallen first responders and catastrophically injured veterans with the safety and security of a mortgage-free home.
The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s rating and other information about charitable giving is available free of charge on www.charitynavigator.org.
About the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation
The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s mission is to honor the sacrifice of FDNY Firefighter Stephen Siller, who laid down his life to save others on September 11, 2001. By the end of 2020, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation will have spent $250 million to honor and support our military and first responders and their families. For more about the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, please visit tunnel2towers.org.
About Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator, www.charitynavigator.org, is the largest charity evaluator in America and its website attracts more visitors than all other charity rating groups combined. The organization helps guide intelligent giving by evaluating the Financial Health and Accountability & Transparency of more than 8,000 charities. Charity Navigator accepts no advertising or donations from the organizations it evaluates, ensuring unbiased evaluations, nor does it charge the public for this trusted data. As a result, Charity Navigator, a 501 (c) (3) public charity itself, depends on support from individuals, corporations and foundations that believe it provides a much-needed service to America's charitable givers. Charity Navigator, can be reached directly by telephone at (201) 818-1288, or by mail at 139 Harristown Road, Suite 101, Glen Rock, N.J., 07452.
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